Clinton Puts More B-2s On Hold

Both Proponents, Critics Dislike Decision On Bomber

February 09, 1996|By Michael Kilian, Washington Bureau.

WASHINGTON — President Clinton came down on both sides of the B-2 bomber issue Thursday, saying he had decided against ordering any more of the controversial "stealth" aircraft now, but would keep the door open for possible purchases later.

Rather than shut off future B-2 production, the president commissioned a study by the Air Force to determine, among other things, if more B-2s might be needed.

"The president concluded that the B-2 is a highly capable long-range and stealthy bomber but that additional B-2s would be too costly," national security assistant Robert Bell told reporters at a White House briefing.

". . . We do not rule out the possibility the study could come in and provide the basis for buying additional B-2s, but we don't presume that."

The study is to be completed in December, a month after the presidential election.

Though the move does save money, both critics and supporters of the Cold War-inspired aircraft said they were dismayed by the president's position.

Supporters of the B-2, mostly from defense industry states such as California, had wanted Clinton to include a request in next year's budget for 20 more of the $1 billion-each long-range bombers, in addition to the 20 already in service or on order.

Including operating costs, 20 more aircraft would increase defense spending by $30 billion over the next two decades. Bell said such an expenditure could hamper plans to balance the budget.

Critics had hoped Clinton would prevent future acquisitions. He vetoed a defense authorization bill passed late last year, in part because it included $493 million to keep the B-2 production lines open.

On Thursday, he said he now supports spending that money because it will go to upgrade the existing fleet of B-2 bombers while keeping aerospace workers on the job.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee, a former combat pilot who says the B-2 is unnecessary in a post-Cold War world, said the president is not only approving the $493 million in B-2 money but removing a procurement cap that would have limited the total B-2 fleet to 20.

"That's the way I read it," McCain said. "He's opposing further production, while at the same time making it possible for it to continue."

But other opponents saw Clinton's decision as a victory.

"I'm glad the president agrees with the secretary of defense and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff that we do not need and cannot afford more than 20 B-2 bombers," said Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

A Pentagon study last year said it was not feasible to purchase more B-2s in an era of smaller defense budgets.

The study concluded that money should be spent instead on cruise missiles, swing-wing B-1s and the fleet of B-52 bombers.

Though the B-2 is not yet operational and there are only 10 in service, a successful 19-hour practice mission was recently undertaken in which a B-2 flew from the United States and dropped practice bombs in the western Pacific.

The B-2 is manufactured by the Northrup Grumman Corp., which employs 8,500 workers on the plane in California alone, a state with 54 of the 270 Electoral College votes Clinton needs for re-election.

A spokesman said that if the president fails to order more B-2s by the end of the year, some 1,000 workers would have to be laid off.

Saying they were "distressed," Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and four other congressional supporters of the project sent a letter to Clinton Thursday afternoon asking to meet with him before he draws up his defense requests for the next fiscal year.